2019 Road Trip

Oh, it is nice to be stationary for a couple nights with amenities of home... at least a shower and breakfast! Wilbur is very user friendly.  I just have to be aware of how much water it will take to clean up when I’m done.  With all the water I need, I cooked a pound of bacon this morning, half In the microwave on convection bake and half on the stove top with a splash screen.  The stove top was done way faster, so I took it out of the oven and put it on the stove top and put canned biscuits in the oven.  Everything was done at the same time and tasted almost like home. 😋 Then we walked about a half mile into the town of Naco (like taco with a “n”).  Naco sits right on the border of Mexico, so the half with all the activities must be on the other side of the fence!  Speaking of the border fence, it seems to stretch for miles in this part of Arizona. Only the Gay 90's Bar and an auto repair shop were open, and of course the Border Patrol at...

As I sat eating breakfast this morning I saw a coatimundi walking through the woods about 20 yards away.  Of course I didn’t have a camera and it wasn’t close enough to get a good picture so you’ll have to google it. I also find the junipers in the campgrounds interesting.  They grow straight and tall and the bark resembles a alligator’s hide so the name of the tree is -  alligator juniper.  Who would have guessed!  There are also large clumps of mistletoe growing in many of the trees.  As we left Chiricahua, we continued south toward Douglas and the Mexican border.  There is more farm land in this area, crops of different types, cotton, corn, orchards - I don’t recognize, and vineyards.  More new and old houses that have been deserted, some of which could have been on the reservation land we crossed earlier.  About 20 miles before we got to Douglas there was a border patrol check point for north bound traffic. Arriving at the junction wi...

Today was a day of hiking.  We started with a 1.8 mile hike to the top of Sugarloaf Mountain, the highest point in Chiricahua National Monument at 7310 ft.  It was a beautiful day for hiking, and certainly beautiful surroundings.   The are not many flowers still blooming but I found a few.  There is a fire lookout at the top.  Of course Wilbur waiting patiently in the parking lot  Then on to the next hike... here why don’t I just include a description you can read for yourself: Bob will have to add commits, I was too busy trying to breath to take pictures🥴 Bob says...  It's going to be hard to select just a few pictures!  This park is a real gem!!  You can read about all the geology online, but the fact that you can actually hike through all of the spectacular rock features makes it a very special place. The balanced rocks seem to defy gravity and the forces of wind and water hav...

The wind blew most of the night, but it helped to close the slideout.  It wasn’t as noisy and the RV didn’t rock as bad.  Continuing southeast across more reservation land, much like the other, only the terrain was not flat but not to be confused with mountains.  There were water tanks but no windmills.  As we neared the town of Pima there were cotton crops everywhere.  I have never seen cotton fields before, and in Arizona no less!  I find this fascinating because my mother use to tell me about picking cotton.  These rows are so close together you couldn’t walk between them. No wonder her back hurt because the plants look to be about knee high.  Then we saw a combine that was taking the cotton off but leaving the stocks standing and big bails of cotton rolled up at the end of the fields.  They look to be at least 6’ across. My heart hurts a little as I think about her telling how she would try to wrap her fingers so they wouldn...

Hmmm, a bitter sweet leaving this morning.  Bob posted a picture of the “view from our patio” last evening, and I’ll post the view this morning with the sun on my back... We have enjoyed the trees: sycamore, mesquite, pine and probably several others but they were big and shady. Even the galleries have beautiful things made out of the wood.   We talked about staying another night just because we’ve enjoyed the environment of the park but pretty sure there is another one out there somewhere. Maybe not greener.  A very long day of driving, especially after being parked since last Thursday.  The scenery was amazing.  We headed southeast out of Sedona, stopping at Montezuma‘s Castle... Then to avoid Phoenix and Mesa we took back highways heading Southeast.  I cannot believe the giant rolling hills and the roads that went up and down, from 2400 to over 7000 ft... poor Wilbur, he was a sport.  There was also a variety of vegetation ti...

Today we took a short morning walk to the Tlaquepaque Arts & Shopping Village.  I'm sure that if you can pronounce it you should get an automatic 15% discount at any of the shops and galleries!  In any case, the Village was developed in the 1970's as Sedona was trying to reinvent itself into a tourist destination, and it was truely a new experience.  The previous owner of the property had stipulated that none of the old trees were to be removed, so they designed the courtyards and plazas around the trees.  Very beautiful!  We excercised great self control and managed to avoid dropping 5-digit sums on paintings, prints and bronze sculptures... With our savings, we enjoyed a truely great lunch at Dellepiane's Burger Joint and made our way back to "camp' to enjoy the remainder of a beautiful day. Tomorrow we will be on the road again after spending 3 relaxing days in Sedona.  As soon as we determine where 'there' is, we'll post an ...

Well we walked Bob’s “mile” into town this morning to take the Sedona Trolley tours of Sedona. It was well worth it.  We got to see and hear a lot about Sedona's history and sights, and Wilbur never had to start his engine. Had a good lunch at the Sedona Pizza and Pasta Company... it was all quite good. Then we continued walking around UpTown Sedona. Lots to see and lots to buy. Good thing we are on a budget🙄. Bob convinced me to buy some clothes.. very hard sale!  Lol.  More walking and walking, then more walking but it was all for a very good cause, we HAD to find PussyCat Gelato. Bethany said 😋 and we weren’t disappointed. Then only another "mile" walk back to our home on wheels!